Clock-escapement



(Mode1.)'

P. A. LANE.

CLOCK ESGAPEME NT. I No. 257,727. Patented May 9, 1882.

i N. PETERS, Vhulcrhlhusraphen Wtdfington. u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIG A. LANE, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

CLOCK-ESCAPEMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 257,727, dated May 9, 1882. Application filed March 2, 1882. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED. A. LANE, of New Haven,inthecounty ofNewHavenandState of Connecticut, haveinvented a newlmprovement in Clock-Movements; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a front view, portions of the frame cut away; Fig. 2, a side view; Fig. 3, a detached sectional view through the verge.

This invention relates to an improvementin that class of clock-movements which employ an escapenient, with a lever between the escapement and the balance-wheel, commonly called marine movements.

In the usual construction the verge acts directly upon teeth on the crown-wheel, and as there is unavoidably more or less lateral play of the parts, it follows that the verge must present so broad a face to the action of the teeth of the wheel as to always take a full bearing of the tooth. Hence the verge must be considerably thicker than the wheel itself, and usually the verge has been made in one piece attached to the shaft, and the lever which extends from its shaft to the balance-wheel made in another piece, each attached independently to the verge; or in some cases the lever has been riveted to the verge itself, the verge affording sufficient thickness to make a firm connection with the shaft. The thick verge, whetherit work upon the teeth or upon pins on the side of the crownwheel, produces great friction and a greater liability to clogging from dirt or bad oil than would be the case if the verge were so thin as to present a very slight working-face.

The object of this invention is to construct a verge which shall present only a very thin working-surface, be practically constructed, and securely attached to its shaft; and it consists principally in a verge and shaft made from thin metal in one and thezsame piece, with a collar attached to take a bearing of suflicient length upon the shaft as to secure the verge and lever thereto, as more fully hereinafter described.

A represents the verge-shaft, a the verge,

and I) the lever, which are formed in one and the same piece, cut from very thin steel. At the point where the verge and lever are to be attached to the shaft a perforation is made of larger diameter than the shaft, and into this perforation a collar, (1, is secured. This collar is bored to closely fit the shaft A, and constructed with a shoulder, c, at one end, so that the end may pass through the perforation in the body of the verge and be riveted down upon the opposite side, as seen in Fig.3, which firmly secures the collar to the verge. This collaris of sufficient length that when placed upon the shaft and there secured it will hold the "ergo securely to the shaft. By this construction the verge maybe made extremely thin, because there is no lateral strain upon the verge, and its attachment to the shaft is as firm and strong as if the body of the verge and lever were of the usual thick material-that is, sufficiently thick to support the verge upon the shaft. Hence the friction between the verge and the crown-wheel is materially reduced. As this thin verge would not be practical with a toothed wheel, I construct the crown-wheel B with pins 0 on its side projecting parallel with the axis of the wheel.

This invention is peculiarly adapted to the very small clock-movements now in great demand in the market, and that these clocks may be produced so as to be sold at a very small price it is necessary that all the parts should be very simple and cheap in their construction. This verge therefore is peculiarly adapted to this class of clocks.

In this class of movements banking pins or stops for the verge are necessary, and these should be such as to be easy of adjustment in the assembling of the parts. To this end I apply to the verge a single pin,f, projecting outward from its surface parallel with the axis of the shaft, and in the plate 0 of the frame Icut a triangular hole, h, through which this pin projects, the upper and lower sides of the opening permitting the pin to swing in the movement of the verge, and so that in so swinging the pin will first strike one edge in one direction and the other in the opposite direction. The inclined sides of the opening it converge toward the shaft of the verge. Hence, as the pin stands farther from or nearer to the shaft of the verge, its movement will correspond to the distance between the two sides. To vary the extent of this movement, therefore, it is only necessary to bend the pin in toward the shaft if the movement is required to be less, or outward if it is required to be more. When the movement is required to be less, bend it into the narrower part of the opening, or to be more, bend into the broader part.

I have represented the pin as on one arm of the erge; but it will be understood that it may be on any other part of the lever.

I claim- 1. The herein-described improvement in marine clock-movements, consisting of the thin metal verge and lever a b, in one and the same piece, combined with the collar (7, attached thereto to form connection with the shaft, and the crown-wheel, constructed with pins projecting from its side parallel with the axis of the wheel, substantially as described.

2. In a marine clock-moveinent, the pin flextending from the verge or lever, and the frame, constructed with a triangular opening, through which said pin projects, and upon opposite sides of which the said pin will bank, and between which sides the said pin may be adjusted, substantially as and for the purpose described.

FREDERIO A. LANE.

Witnesses:

JOHN E. EARLE, LILLIAN D. Roenns. 

